Job Seekers Work- Life Balance Search Trends: Not Necessarily Good For Employers

 

Happiness In America’s Workplace vs. Happiness In America’s Homes: A Lot Of Job Seekers Are Now Considering Traditional, As Well As Non-Traditional, Factors When Looking For Their Perfect Job.  Can Today’s Job Seekers Really Have It All? And If So, At What Cost To Employers With Job Openings To Fill?  

 

     Many of America’s job seekers are no longer influenced just by what their parents, families and friends say or think about their career choices.  They are now deliberately considering factors relevant to their personal lives and the goals they have outside the workplace when actively or passively exploring job opportunities.  As a result of this trend, small, mid-sized and even large employers must consider adapting to the new job prospecting experience of job seekers---if they want to get their job openings noticed, applied for and ultimately filled.

 

     Job seekers are beginning to look into more aspects of their job search than merely who the employer is and the information included in the employer’s job advertisement. They are taking into account various ‘Tassel Factors’:  The embellishments of the job opportunities that will positively enhance their career and life management.  From where to live, work, and play to how much money to make, what’s left to live on and what’s left to give of their net pay---and of themselves---the new job prospecting experience now includes a wide range of considerations. 

 

But this trend doesn’t have to be a problem for companies.  Instead, it is an exciting opportunity for employers to positively impact today’s job prospecting experience. 

 

    Admittedly, it's not easy to create job descriptions designed to be seen by large numbers of people yet gives a candidate the perception it was designed exclusively for them. Most employers are aware they shouldn’t try to be all things to all people.  After all, what is important to one person at work and in life obviously may not be a priority at all to another person.  So what steps can employers take right now to compete for top talent in their industry?   They can take risks, invest and, at the end of the day, reap the benefits.

 

·         Take a risk.  Playing it safe when it comes to marketing your job openings puts you in a class----but with everybody else.  Take a manageable risk and raise your hand in this class. Make job seekers aware of you by interrupting them where they are prospecting and researching Tassel Factors.

·          Get out of your comfort zone. You advertise in the same place, say the same thing and in the same way.  By the time a qualified job seeker learns about your ‘me too’ job description, they are left asking “So what else is new?”  To answer that question you should market and create a presence where your competitors are not.  Be in a class by yourself.

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·         Once you have the job seeker’s attention, be willing to invest.  Empower the job seeker with information that makes it easy for them to discover on their own the value of your job opportunities beyond the job description.  This demonstrates you respect where they are in their search experience. Immediately, you don’t just have their attention, you hold their attention…an enviable situation other participants in your industry would love to be in.

 

 

·               It is important to recognize the necessity of balancing the needs of your company and distinguishing your brand with the wants of today’s job seekers and marketing meaningful soft perks of your job opportunities. 

 

     Now you are in a position to reap the benefits of relating to the job seeker.  Imagine having a job seeker tell you their needs and wants, then trusting you enough to solicit and or listen to alternative or additional suggestions from you that they may not have considered--- but may also work with their personal and professional goals.  That is the kind of rewards prospective employers can receive when they exceed a job seeker’s expectations at every encounter in their job prospecting experience. 

     

Highlighting clear and relevant advantages for the job seeker, in addition to the actual job opening, can go a long way to attracting interested, qualified active and passive talent away from your competitors.

 

    

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R. L. Polhill is a Staffing and Employment Marketing Consultant.  She is the founder and CEO of online job board NoStateIncomeTaxJobs.com.  If you'd like more information about this topic or to discuss this topic, please e-mail rlpolhill@nostateincometaxjobs.com